mmmwi  ■■■  mm. 


CHURCH    DEBTS 


AND- 


THE  WAY  TO  PAY  THEM. 


.a.  szeee^dvuoust, 


Preached  November  21st,  1886, 


■BY- 


THE    REV.    CHARLES    L,    MIEL, 


RECTOR   OF   ST.  PETER'S   CHURCH, 


SAN  FRANCISCO. 


SAN  FRANCISCO: 
Pacific  Churchman  Press,  605  Montgomery  Street. 

1886. 


»"     V     CJ       t,       V 


CHURCH  DEBTS  AND  HOW  TO  PAY  '$RM? 


"And  this  I  pray,  that  your  love  may  abound  yet  more  and  more  in 
knowledge  and  in  all  judgment;  that  ye  may  approve  things  that  are  excel- 
lent; that  ye  may  be  sincere  and  without  oftence  till  the  day  of  Christ; 
being  filled  with  the  fruits  of  righteousness,  which  are,  by  Jesus  Christ, 
unto  the  gloiy  and  praise  of  God."     Philippians  i,  9,  10,  11. 

Church  Debts.  I  am  going  to  speak  very  plainly  of  Church 
Debts  to-night.  For  some  time  I  have  waited  for  an  opportunity 
of  doing  so,  and  the  opportunity  is  now  given  me  in  the  double 
fact  that  this  is  the  last  Sunday  in  the  Church  year,  the  time  to  cast 
up  accounts  and  make  new  beginnings,  and  that  on  this  Twenty- 
second  Sunday  after  Trinity,  the  Church  in  her  Gospel  and  Epis- 
tle has  something  to  say  of  debts  and  debtors.  And  because  one 
of  the  rubrics  in  the  Prayer  Book  prevented  my  reading  this  Gos- 
pel and  Epistle  this  morning,  I  have  read  to  you  the  Gospel  as  the 
second  lesson  for  this  evening,  and  you  have  heard  the  Epistle  read 
in  connection  with  the  text  of  this  sermon.  On  the  subject  of 
debts  and  debtors  the  Gospel  is  direct.  The  Epistle  apparently 
is  less  direct;  only  apparently  however,  for  I  hope  to  show  you 
shortly  how  pertinent  the  text  is  to  the  question  of  church  indebt- 
edness and  the  way  in  which  that  indebtedness  should  be  met 
and  paid. 

"And  this  I  pray,  that  your  love  may  abound  yet  more  and 
more  in  knowledge  and  in  all  judgment;  that  ye  may  approve 
things  that  are  excellent;  that  ye  may  be  sincere  and  without 
offence  till  the  day  of  Christ;  being  filled  with  the  fruits  of  right- 
eousness, which  are,  by  Jesus  Christ,  unto  the  glory  and  praise  of 
<&od." 

"And  this  I  pray."     It  is  characteristic  of  St.  Paul    that  in  his 

916686 


2  CHURCH  DEBTS 

thanksgivings  and  prayers,  he  always  thanks  God  for  what  is  best 
and*  stf©wge£t  in  those  churches  to  which  he  writes,  and  always 
'  prays*G£oif  fo*r«what  is  worst  and  weakest.  The  Christians  at  Phil- 
^yxpi'wje^e,  it  v\ro'ulVi  seem,  an  enthusiastic  and  a  large  hearted  set 
''of'^eopW*  cSo*  much  so,  in  fact,  that  while  St.  Paul  thanks  God 
that  they  were  so,  yet  he  feels  it  necessary  to  pray  God  that  these 
virtues  may  not  grow  into  vices,  but, rather  be  pruned  an'd  kept 
in  bounds  by  knowledge,  by  clear  perception,  by  sound  judgment: 
In  short  St.  Paul  prays  that  the  enthusiastic  side  of  the  Christian 
character  may  be  held  in  check  by  the  thoughtful  side;  that  the 
'  heart  may  not  run  away  with  the  head.  And  this  prayer  of  St. 
Paul's  has  three  distinct  parts.  First — there  is  the  direct  prayer 
that  the  Philippians'  love  for  God  "may  abound  in  k/ioioletfr/e  and 
in  all  judgment"  Then  follows  a  prayer  for  the  direct  conse- 
quence of  the  first,  that  having  received  knowledge  and  judgment, 
they  "may  approve  things  that  are  excellent;"  i.  e.,  they  may  choose 
good  and  proper  ways  of  showing  their  abounding  love.  And  last 
comes  a  prayer  that  having  been  taught  of  God  true  theories  and 
proper  practices  they  may,  in  their  application  of  both,  "be  sincere 
and  without  offence." 

And  now,  dear  brethren,  I  apply  this  prayer  of  St.  Paul's  to  you. 
It  has  often  been  my  prayer  for  you,  and  so  it  will  be  so  long  as 
I  shall  minister  unto  you.  And  so  I  want  you  to  understand  what 
bearing  it  has  upon  Church  debts,  especially  upon  our  Church 
debt.  And  first  I  want  you  to  understand  what  is  meant  by  "love 
abounding  in  knowledge  and  judgment." 

I.  Love  here  means  works  of  love.  Not  the  emotion,  not  the 
inward  gr^ice, (though  that  perhaps  is  the  prime  requisite,)  but  the 
outward  visible  sign  and  expression  of  love.  As  to  the  ways  and 
means  of  this  expression  I  shall  speak  further  on.  I  now  emphasize 
the  fact  that  the  expression  of  love  in  Christian  lives  should  bean 
abounding  expression — the  rich  growth  of  a  tropical,  rather  than 
the  stunted  growth  of  an  arctic  heart.  And  Christian  love  should 
not  only  abound,  but  abound  freely — "more  and  more."  It  is  a 
significant  fact  that  the  greek  work  translated  "abound,"  means  to 
"bound  over,"  to  "overleap,"  to  "over-flow."  Our  works  of  love  ' 
done  in  God's  name  and  for  His  sake  should  overflow,  should  rise 


AND  HOW  TO  PAY  THEM.  3 

as  naturally  and  freely  from  the  heart  as  the  spring  welling  from 
the  heart  of  the  mountain,  not  dribble  like  a.  block  of  ice  under  the 
focus  of  a  burning  glass.  And  then  too,  this  overflowing  love 
should  not  beallowed  to  run  to  waste,  but  should  be  turned  into 
proper  and  legitimate  channels  of  usefulness. 

You  have  seen,  some  of  you,  the  living  stream,  that  sang,  and 
laughed,  and  danced  'neath  summer  suns,  lifeless  and  still  in  win- 
ter's shroud.  The  busy  wheels,  the  hum,  and  buzz,  and  clash,  and 
clatter  along  its  banks,these  too  are  hushed  and  dead.  But  with 
the  gentle  wooing  of  the  spring;  with  balmy  sighs  and  tepid  tears, 
the  heart  of  ice  has  melted,  and  with  a  mighty  bound  the  prisoned 
stream  has  burst  its  bonds  and  rushed  tumultuously  in  its  new- 
born freedom.  Rushed  how?  Rushed  whither?  Here?  There? 
Anywhere?  Roaring  over  its  banks?  Hissing  at  human  life? 
Gorged  with  human  property?  An  instrument  of  death  and 
desolation?  Waking  an  echo  of  wailing  for  the  dead  and  the  ru- 
ined? Is  it  thus  that  the  overflow  has  passed?  It  may  have  been. 
It  has  not  often  been  when  its  course  was  guided  by  a  knowledge 
and  by  a  judgment  not  its  own.  Knowledge  and  judgment, 
these  God-given  powers  have  guided  the  rushing  flood  into  its 
appointed  gates  and  channels.  Frozen  veins  and  arteries  thrill 
anew  with  life;  wheels,  and  shafts,  and  belts  revolve;  looms  whistle 
in  shrilly  glee,  saws  hum  their  diapason,  and  the  anthem  of  indus- 
try rises  again  where,  but  for  knowledge  and  judgment,  might 
have  risen  the  dirge  of  death. 

And  Christian  love,  Godly  love,  the  "living  water"  has  its  prop- 
er channels  too.  All  along  the  stream  of  time,  here  a  -flood-gate, 
there  a  course  into  which  the  love  that  Christians  bear  to  God 
may  safely,  wisely,  and  healthfully  be  turned.  Turned  to  refresh 
and  invigorate,  not  to  weary  and  desecrate  God's  inheritance; 
God's  children  and  God's  church.  Knowledge  and  judgment  are 
to  determine  of  what  sort  and  character  these  gates  and  channels 
shall  be; — a  Godly  knowledge,  i.  e.,  a  knowledge  of  God's  will 
and  God's  ways;  a  righteous  judgment,  i.  e.,  a  clear  perception  of 
what  is  right  and  true  to  the  line  of  God's  will  and  God's  ways. 
Knowledge  and  judgment,  these  should  be  the  guides  of  that 
overflowing  love  which  Christians  should  feel  and  express  for  the 


4  CHURCH  DEBTS 

God  of  love;  for  the  Father  Who  has  created  them,  for  the  Son 
Who  has  redeemed  them,  and  for  the  Spirit  Who  sanctifieth  them 
and  all  the  people  of  God. 

Should.  You  think  there  are  too  many  "shoulds"  in  that  last 
sentence.  So  do  I.  But  that  is  not  my  fault.  Would  to  God  I 
might  say,  knowledge  and  judgment  are  the  guides  of  that  love 
which  Christians  do  feel  for  God.  But  I  cannot.  For,  is  the  love 
which  Christians  profess  for  God  and  God's  Church  always  guided 
by  a  Godly  knowledge  and  a  righteous  judgment?  Does  this  love 
in  its  expression,  always  manifest  itself  in  ways  of  approved  excel- 
lence? And  is  the  result  of  such  manifestation  to  engender  sin- 
cerity, peace,  and  the  fruits  pf  righteousness?  I  maybe  wrong,  if 
so  I  am  ready  to  stand  corrected,  but  I  believe  that  in  very  many 
instances  it  is  and  does  not.  In  the  instance  of  Church  Debts,  I 
believe  that  the  means  resorted  to  (and  pardon  the  irony  of  the 
word)  for  the  paying  of  these  debts  by  people  calling  and  profes- 
sing themselves  Christians,  are  often  more  disgraceful  than 
the  fact  of  the  debt  itself.  I  do  not  say  that  a  Church  debt  is  a 
disgraceful  fact.  A  Church  debt  may  often  be  the  resultant  of  an 
equally  wise  and  necessary  policy.  It  becomes  a  disgraceful  fact 
only,  when  no  legitimate  effort  is  made  to  pay  it  on  the  part  of 
those  who  have  contracted  it  or  who  are  bounden  by  it.  It  was 
no  disgrace  that  the  servant  in  the  parable  owed  his  lord  ten 
thousand  talents,  for  he  proposed  to  pay  his  debt,  and  his  lord  ac- 
cepted his  petition  for  time  on  the  ground  of  good  security.  But 
it  would  have  been  a  disgrace  if  that  servant,  possessing  as  he 
did  securities  convertible  into  cash,  had  declared  himself  a  bank- 
rupt and  repudiated  his  debt,  or,  what  is  much  the  same  thing, 
taken  no  steps  to  pay  it  in  whole  or  in  part.  And  so,  T  am  not 
one  of  those  who  hold  it  a  crying  disgrace  that  a  church  should 
have  a  debt  upon  it,  so  long  as  a  wise  and  proper  foresight  shall 
have  dictated  when  and  how,  in  the  course  of  legitimate  business, 
that  debt  shall  be  paid.  But  I  am,  and  I  trust  I  shall  always  be, 
one  of  those  who  hold  it  a  burning,  blushing  shame,  that  so  many 
professed  Christians  snap  their  purses  shut  against  the  legitimate 
claims  of  God's  Church  and  hold  them  agape  to  those  illegitimate 
children  of  a  charity  falsely  so  called — that  spurious  brood,  born  of  a 


AND  HO  W  TO  PA  Y  THEM.  5 

miserly  meanness  and  suckled  at  the  breast  of  a  lustful  selfishness 
— the  Church  Fair,  the  Church  Concert,  the  Church  Lunch,  the 
Church  Entertainment,  and  a  train  of  other  unchristened  evils. 
I  hold  that  the  Christian  love  (God  save  the  mark!)  that  flows  only 
through  such  channels,  must,  if  it  look  upon  God's  great  love- 
gift  at  all,  look  upon  it  as  a  mummery  or  a  burlesque:  Must  look 
upon  Christ  on  His  cross  as  a  dummy  Christ;  must  look  upon  His 
blood,  and  tears,  and  cries,  as  stage  blood,  and  tears,  and  cries; 
upon  the  thunder,  and  the  lightning,  and  the  darkness  as  clever 
scenic  effects  in  the  hands  of  scheming  apostolic  property-men; 
upon  the  preaching  of  the  passion  as  an  intellectual  or  emotional 
mockery;  upon  the  claims  of  the  Church  of  God  as  an  intermittent 
and  a  frequent  nuisance.  Oh!  Brethren!  If  God's  love  and  sacri- 
fice for  us  be,  as  we  believe  it  is,  a  reality,  Jet  our  love  and  sacri- 
fice for  God  be  a  reality  as  well.  Aye!  let  it  be  a  reality,  for  too 
often  and  too  generally  it  is  not.  What  is  the  ruling  spirit  of  evil 
in  the  Church  to-day?  Without  fear  ot  successful  contradiction 
I  submit  that  spirit  is  a  spirit  of  selfishness.  Of  old  it  was  "God 
and  my  rights."  To-day  it  too  often  is  "  My  rights  and 
my  God."  Self  first,  God  afterwards.  My  house  first,  my  Fath- 
er's afterwards.  The  world  first,  the  Saviour  of  the  world  after- 
wards. My  comfort  first,  the  Comforter  afterwards.  Aye!  the  ruling 
spirit  of  evil  in  the  Church  to-day  is  a  spirit  of  selfishness  strang- 
ling that  spirit  of  divine  unselfishness,  that  spirit  of  Christ,  with- 
out which  man  or  church  is  none  ot  His.  And  in  support  of  such  a 
statement  I  submit  there  is  perhaps  no  greater  cause  of  offense  in  the 
Church  to-day,  than  that  Church  people  are  asked  to  acknowledge 
their  indebtedness  to  Almighty  God  and  to  pay  it.  I  submit 
further,  the  fact  that  such  a  demand  and  such  a  claim  is  a  cause  of 
offense  argues  little  for  the  professed  love  and  integrity  of  con- 
gregations and  of  individuals.  And  I  believe  that  out  of  such  a 
spirit  of  selfishness  the  Church  Fair  has  sprung  into  being.  It  is 
claimed  that  the  Church  Fair  et  al  are  necessary  evils.  I  deny 
that  claim.  I  believe  it  is  false.  But  if  these  things  be  necessary 
evils,  it  seems  to  me  we  must  often  seek  the  cause  among  the 
ranks  of  the  ministers  and  stewards  of  the  Household  of  God. 
May  it  not  be  that  a  well  intentioned  yielding  to  parish  sentiment, 


6  CHURCH  DEBTS 

influence,  or  custom,  has  at  last,  so  shrivelled  hearts  and  calloused 
consciences,  that  the  Church  Fair    is  so  largely  regarded  to-day, 
if  not  as  a  necessary  good,  then  as  a    necessary  evil?     Speaking 
only  for  myself,  I  believe  that  such  is  indeed  the  case.  And  hence 
it  is  that  to-day  so  many  clergymen  are  lean  and  hungry  of  visage , 
out  at  the  elbows  and  down  at  the  heel;  so  many  churches  are  stee- 
pled  with  mortgages  and  hung  with  red  tape;    so  many  charities 
are  hobbling  on  crutches  or  gasping  for  breath;  not  because  peo- 
ple are  too  poor  to  build  churches,  or  to   support  ministers,  or  to 
maintain  charities,  but  because,  in  many  cases,   under  a  mistaken 
estimate  or  a  weak  enforcement  of  the  claims  of  God  upon  the  in- 
dividual soul,  they  have  become  too  mean;  not  because  lips  do  not 
profess  love  for  Christ,  but  because  hearts  are  empty  of  Him,  and 
full  of  self.     Oh!  be  sure  it  is  not  because  of  hard    times    that  so 
many  church  debts  remain    unpaid,  but    because    of   hypocritical 
times;  not  because  of  scarcity  of  cash,  but  because  of  superfluity 
of  cant.     Yet   these  debts  must  be  paid,  and    because  they  must 
it  is  urged  that  it  is  better    to  pay  them  by  the  Church  Fair,  etc., 
than  to  allow  them  to   stand   unpaid;    money  is  money   no  matter 
where  it  comes  from,  no  matter    how  it    comes.      I    cannot  hold 
such  a  view.    Because  it  seems  to  me  to  be  better,  so  far  as  honor 
due  to  God  is  concerned,  that  a  house  of  His    should  pass  under 
the    hammer    than    His    Holy  Name    be    used    as    an    omnibus 
to  drag  people  to  the  play  house,  the  dance  house,  the  fair  house, 
or  the  eating  house.     If  people  do  not  care  enough  about  God's 
house  and  God's  religion  to  pay  directly  for  the  building  of    the 
one  and  the  support  of  the  other,  I  do  not  say  that  such  people 
should  not  have  a  church  or  a  religion,  for  they  are   just  the  ones 
who  most  need  those  things,  but  I  do  say   they    do    not    deserve 
either.      I  suppose  that  it  will    be    granted  that  the  work  of  God 
upon  earth  is  to  be  supported  by  Christian  Charity  and  prosecu- 
ted in  Christian  Honesty.     Therefore,  if  the    church  fair,  etcr,  be 
really  a  part  of  God's  work,  then  I    submit    that  each    ticket   to 
each  fair,  etc.  should  bear  upon   its    face  the  imprint:     "For  the 
Benefit  of  God  Almighty  and  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  His  Only 
Son,  our  Lord."       That  would  at  least  be  honest  whatever  else  it 
might  be.     I  am  well  aware  that  those  words  do  not  sound  prop- 


AND  HOW  TO  PAY  THEM.  7 

erly  in  Christian  ears.  Why  not?  Because  the  thing  they  speak  of 
is  an  improper  thing.  Because,  if  it  were  proper  and  right  to  hold 
a  church  fair  to  the  greater  glory  of  God  and  for  the  advance- 
ment of  His  Kingdom  upon  earth,  there  would  be  no  offense 
given  or  taken  in  stating  just  what  such  an  entertainment  was  for. 
I  challenge  any  conscientious  clergyman  in  this  city  to  print  on 
his  tickets  the  direct  unvarnished  statement  of  what  this  or  that 
entertainment  given  by  his  parish  is  for.  He  dare  not  do  it. 
Such  a  ticket  would  be  a  blasphemy.  Can  the  entertainment  then 
be  a  thing  according  to  Godly  knowledge  or  righteous  judgment? 
The  tickets  generally  will  read:  For  the  benefit  of  the  Church 
Debt;  For  the  benefit  of  the  Organ  Fund;  the  Choir  Fund;  the 
new  pews,  doors,  windows,  carpet,  cushions,  bell,  or  spire.  But 
the  sermons  and  notices  generally  will  read,  For  the  Glory  and 
Praise  of  God.  I  challenge  those  clergymen  who  instigate,  foster, 
or  aquiesce  in  the  raising  of  money  for  God's  work  by  the  church 
fair  etc.,  to  make  their  admission  tickets  square  with  their  sermons 
and  notices.  This,  I  think,  brings  us  face  to  face  with  the  whole 
point  in  the  matter.  That  point  is: — What  is  the  specific  object 
of  these  parochial  church  entertainments?  Is  it  not  to  raise  mon- 
ey for  the  service  of  God  in  some  form  or  other?  And  because 
many  men  and  women,  professedly  Christians,  will  not  give  their 
money  to  God  from  a  sense  of  love  and  duty,  is  it  not  a  fact  that, 
rather  than  go  without  that  money,  many  clergymen  are  willing  to 
appeal,  and  do  appeal,  to  these  people's  sense  of  selfishness  and 
worldliness?  God  knows  how  far  I  am  from  the  line  of  His  will, 
but  I  would  just  as  soon  offer  Him,  on  His  altar,  Judas  Iscariot's 
blood-money,  and  sing  the  Doxology  over  it,  as  to  offer  Him  mon- 
ey which  had  already  been  offered  on  the  altar  of  mammon. 
Among  protestant  communions  there  is  no  lack  of  harsh  and  acrid 
criticism  of  the  Jesuits  and  of  their  policy.  And  yet  on  every 
hand  are  Protestant  clergy  advocating  in  the  church  fair,  etc.,  the 
motto  which  is  the  keystone  of  Jesuitry,  that  the  end  justifies  the 
means;  yes,  and  deprecating  the  means  in  one  breath  while  advocat- 
ing them  in  another.  The  end  is  held  to  be  the  glory  and  the  praise 
of  God.  What  are  the  means?  They  are  schemes  for  extracting  gold 
and  silver  from  the  tailings  of  a  worked-out    Christian  liberality. 


8  CHURCH  DEBTS 

In  a  greater  or  lesser  degree  every  church  fair,  concert,  opera, 
ball,  lunch,  or  what  not,  is  a  begging  scheme.  Like  some  curb- 
stone cripple  with  placarded  breast  and  tintinnabulating  cup,  so 
do  these  schemes  place  the  Creator,  and  the  Redeemer,  and  the 
Sanctifier  before  the  world — a  beggar  whining  and  jingling  for  an 
alms.  Whereas  I  believe  if  some  of  those  who  proudly  claim  to 
be  the  representatives  of  the  Crucified  Son  of  God,  and  the  stew- 
ards of  His  kingdom  upon  earth,  would  have  the  manhood  and  the 
honesty  to  preach  (as  did  their  Lord  and  Master)  *  God's  claims 
upon  the  soul  and  life  we  should  have  less  of  church  debts  and 
more  of  Christian  love  and  life;  less  of  the  Church  Fair  and  more 
of  the  Fair  Church  ;  less  of  sour  ferment  and  more  of 
blessed  peace  ;  less  of  hypocrisy  and  more  of  truth  ; 
less  of-  mammon  and  more  of  Christ,  than  we  have  to-day.  No 
doubt  most,  if  not  all,  who  take  part  in  these  church  fairs  etc. 
mean  well.  No  doubt  most,  if  not  all,  love  God's  work 
and  are  zealous  in  it,  but  their  love  and  their  zeal  I  submit  is  not 
according  to  Godly  knowledge  or  righteous  judgment.  Quite 
innocently,  it  may  be,  yet,  none  the  less  surely,  they  are  sowing, 
if  not  in  their  own  hearts  then  in  the  hearts  of  others,  the  seed  of 
selfishness,  and  as  is  the  sowing  such  shall  the  harvest  be.  And 
so  1  believe  that  the  payment  of  church  debts  and  the  further- 
ance of  God's  work  in  the  parish  by  the  instrumentality  of  the 
church  fair,  etc.,  is  a  thoroughly  pernicious  principle;  a  principle 
not  warranted  by  the  Word  of  God,  but  rather  condemned  by 
that  spirit  of  self-sacrifice  which  is  the  Spirit  of  Christ  who  is  in 
all  things  the  Head  and  pattern  of  His  Church. 

As  a  principle,  therefore,  I  submit,  the  church  fair  etc.,  can- 
not be  approved  among  those  labors  of  love  which  are  excellent 
and  acceptable  in  the  sight  of  Almighty  God. 

II.  And  not  only  as  a  principle  but  as  a  practice.  For  I  submit 
again,  without  fear  of  successful  contradiction,  that  the  church 
fair,  etc.,  is  a  fruitful  source  of  discord,  envy  and  strife,  and  often 
tends,  if  not  to  immorality,  certainly  to  immodesty  and  effrontery. 
It  engenders  a  love  of  display,  and  so  a  spirit  of  extravagance, 
vanity,  and  jealousy.  It  forces  young  women,  (for  among  these 
are  its  active  spirits  chiefly  found,)  into  relationships  with  men  of 


AJSTD  HO  WTO  PAY  THEM.  9 

unknown  or  of  questionable  character.  Some  years  ago  at  an 
entertainment  of  this  character  in  this  city  I  saw  a  young  girl 
from  whose  cheek  no  wanton  hand  had  brushed  the  bloom  of  in- 
nocence, passing  badinage  while  selling  a  spray  of  lily  of  the  val- 
ley to  a  man  whom  I  knew  to  be  a  profligate,  and  who,  as  I  as- 
certained later,  did  not  know  this  young  girl.  That  instance  I 
believe  to  be  a  type  of  many  others.  I  have  known  young  men 
who  attended  church  fairs  etc.,  not  to  aid  Christian  works,  but  to 
drag  Christian  workers  down  to  the  slime  and  ooze  of  a  guilty 
knowledge.  I  have  known  of  parishes  divided,  friendships  ren- 
ded,  and  hearths  blackened  with  a  soot  of  hell,  and  the  cause  was 
directly  or  indirectly  traceable  to  the  church  entertainment.  And 
so,  as  a  man  who  has  seen  much  of  the  world  and  its  ways,  I  can 
assure  you,  without  substantiating  my  assurance  by  revolting 
detail,  that  in  these  entertainments,  especially  when  given  upon 
an  extended  scale,  there  is  generally  present  more  of  evil  than  of 
good.  And  so  I  oppose  them  not  only  in  principle  but  in  practice. 

III.  I  oppose  them  too  on  another  ground,  a  very  practical  ground. 
I  oppose  the  church  fair  etc.,  as  a  means  of  church  or  parish  sup- 
port, or  of  paying  church  or  parish  debts,  because  I  believe  that 
the  adoption  of  such  means  is  the  adoption  of  a  bad  business 
policy. 

Certainly  in  adopting  the  church  fair  etc.,  as  a  business  policy 
there  is  displayed  more  often  than  not  perhaps,  a  lack  of  knowl- 
edge and  of  judgment.    Because,  from  a  business  standpoint,  the 

church  fair,  etc.,  is  what  is  known  in  the  phrase  of  the  street  as  "a 
gamble."  It  is  as  much  a  game  of  chance  as  faro  is.  There  is  a 
chance  of  financial  success,  there  is  also  a  chance  of  financial 
failure.  After  the  curtain  has  dropped,  or  the  last  dish  been  dried, 
you  may  be  in  or  out  of  pocket.  If  you  are  "in"  then  as  a  busi- 
ness proposition,  well  and  good.  But  if  you  are  "out"  what  are 
you  going  to  do  about  it?  There  stands  the  debt;  that  ghost  that 
has  haunted  you  for  the  last  six  months — there  it  stands  grinning 
as  sardonically  as  ever.  Very  possibly  its  grin  is  on  a  more  ex- 
tended scale  than  before.  What  are  you  going  to  do?  Let  the 
debt  grin  and  bear  it?  That  might  do  if  the  hilarity  would  com- 
municate itself  to  the  creditors.     Unfortunately   creditors  have  a 


10  CHURCH  DEBTS 

very  matter  of  fact  way  of  looking  at  these  little  matters.  Credi- 
tors seldom  smile  until  they  are  paid.  And  so  you  find,  as  the 
saying  goes,  that  you  have  "got  to  do  something."  Well,  what 
are  you  going  to  do?  Give  another  entertainment?  A  burned 
child  dreads  the  fire.  Besides  your  energies  are  exhausted,  your 
spirit  broken.  You  must  wait  another  six  months  before  you  can 
revive  your  energies  and  mend  your  spirit;  unless,  perhaps,  you 
happen  to  be  a  clergyman,  one  of  those  happy  beings  whose  en- 
ergies are  ever  active,  whose  spirit  is  never  broken.  That  makes 
it  all  right.  You  know  what  to  do  now.  You  stand  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  chancel  on  the  following  Sunday,  and  you  say  some- 
thing like  this:  "This  is  your  debt,  a  debt  which  you  owe  to 
Almighty  God.  Are  you  going  to  pay  it;  or  are  you  going  to  re- 
pudiate it?  Do  you  propose  to  live  on  the  principle  'owe  no  man 
anything  but  to  love  one  another,'  or  do  you  propose  to  file  your 
petition  in  spiritual  bankruptcy?"  That  is  all  that  remains  to  you 
so  far  as  I  can  see.  And  if  such  an  attitude  as  that  be  too  often 
necessary,  how  much  better  at  the  very  outset  to  stand  fairly  and 
squarely  upon  the  principle  it  contains,  than,  at  some  eleventh 
hour,  to  be  forced  into  doing  so  by  the  inexorable  pressure  of  re- 
lentless circumstances. 

Then  again  :  when  you  have  a  debt  to  pay,  say  of  $3,000,  is  it 
good  business  to  spend  $6,000  in  order  that  you  may  pay  $3,000? 
Suppose  some  relentless  creditor  should  take  you  by  the  throat 
saying  "pay  me  that  thou  owest,"  would  you  consider  it  good 
business  to  go  out  on  the  street  and  borrow  the  money  on  a  prom- 
issory note  of  thirty  days  with  interest  at  one  hundred  per  cent? 
Certainly  you  would  not.  And  yet  that  is  the  identical  policy 
upon  which  many  Church  people  and  parishes  are  acting  to-day. 
I  believe,  from  actual  figures  and  from  highly  probable  calcula- 
tion, that  the  Church  people  of  this  city  have  very  lately  spent  some 
$20,000,  that  they  might  make  about  $6,500.  Now  just  think  of 
that.  Within  a  few  weeks  Church  people  of  this  city  have  paid 
out  of  their  own  pockets  some  $20,500,  in  order  that  they  might 
get  out  of  the  pockets  of  the  public  about  $6,000.  Is  that  good 
business?  One  church  in  this  city  is  apparently  a  gainer  by  about 
$6,500.     But  the  people  of  that  church  and  of  other  churches  have 


AND  HO W  TO  PAY  THEM.  11 

spent  ahout  $20,000,  Now  I  want  you  to  think  of  another  fact. 
If  that  $20,000  had  been  given  outright  by  the  participants, 
boothers,  and  church  attendants  at  the  late  carnival,  it  would  have 
paid  just  about"  two-thirds  of  the  total    parish  debts  of   this  city. 

"  Oh!  but  you  forget  one  thing,"  I  fancy  I  can  hear  some  one 
say,  "you  forget  that  it  wouldn't  have  been  given  outright." 
No  I  do  not  forgret.  I  believe  that  if  a  decided  stand  was  made 
in  this  matter;  if  the  love  of  Christians  (and  there  is  plenty  of 
love  and  zeal  afloat  in  this  diocese)  were  properly, ^appealed  to 
that  the  result  would  equal  if  not  exceed  the  result  of  an  appeal 
to  selfishness. 

And  now  in  view  of  the  debt  that  each  individual  of  each  of 
our  city  parishes  owes  to  Almighty  God,  how  does  the  account 
stand?  I  believe  it  will  stand  something  like  this:  Church  of 
the  Coming  of  Christ,  Church  of  the  Triune  God,  Church  of  the 
Gift  of  the  Spirit,  Church  of  the  Beloved  Disciple,  Church  of  the 
Apostle  to  the  Gentiles,  Church  of  the  Good  Physician,  Church 
of  the  First  Martyr,  Church  of  the  Keeper  of  the  Keys,  Drs.  To  For- 
eign Missions,  To  Domestic  Missions,  To  Diocesan  Missions,  To 
Diocesan  Charities,  To  Church  Improvements,  To  Church  Offer- 
ings, To  Parish  Debts,  about  $10,000,  more  or  less.  I  do  not  say 
that  this  sum  would  have  been  given  to  any  or  all  these  objects; 
but  in  view  of  the  fact  that  a  sum  nearly  or  more  than  twice  as 
large  has  been  given  to  the  noble  army  of  carpenters,  caterers, 
confectioners,  car  conductors,  dressmakes,  decorators,  hack-drivers, 
printers,  florists  et  omne  ge?ius,  I  do  say  that  the  subscriptions 
and  gifts  to  God's  work  in  one  form  or  other,  are  going  in  the 
logical  sequence  of  events  to  shrivel,  if  not  evaporate,  for  some 
time  to  come. 

Pray  understand  distinctly:  I  do  not  stand  here  to-night  to 
criticize  harshly  the  ideas  and  practices  of  other  people,  my  breth- 
ren of  the  clergy  and  the  laity.  I  am  well  aware  that  many  will 
differ  with  me,  and  they  have  the  same  right  to  their  opinions 
as  I  have  to  mine.  I  simply  stand  here  to  state  to  you,  my 
people,  my  personal  views  on  this  subject;  to  say  to  you 
that  I  am  profoundly  impressed  with  the  justice  of  those  views; 
that  I  believe   they  are  well   founded:  that,  so    long  as   I  shall  so 


12  CHURCH  DEBTS 

believe,  I  shall  stand  by  them;  and  that  should  it  ever  come  to 
pass  that  I  cannot  stand  by  those  views,  and  at  the  same  time 
stand  by  any  parish  with  which  I  may  be  associated,  I  shall  cer- 
tainly, if  I  at  all  know  myself,  stand  down  and  out. 

I  tried  during  the  late  carnival  to  avoid  the  appearance  of  the 
fact  that  St.  Peter's  Parish  as  a  parish  was  taking  part  in  it.  I 
gave  out,  what  was  quite  true,  that  our  participants  were  from  a 
Chapter  of  our  Guild,  and  that  this  Chapter  alone  was  concerned 
in  the  entertainment.  Nevertheless  I  am  now  unpleasantly  con- 
scious of  the  fact  that  the  Guild  is  a  Parish  Guild  and  that  this 
U.  D.  Chapter  was  and  is  a  part  of  our  parochial  machinery,  and 
therefore  the  Parish  and  Rector  took  part,  indirectly  at  least,  in 
the  entertainment.  Well,  for  one  reason  I  am  glad  of  it.  It  is  a 
good  thing  even  when  making  mistakes,  to  make  them  well.  So 
in  this  case,  I  say  I  am  glad  that  after  having  put  our  several  sin- 
gle feet  into  it,  we  decided,  not  to  lend  a  limping  support,  but 
to  go  into  the  affair  with  both  feet.  And  here  I  want  to  express 
my  gratitude  to  all  those  of  you  who  lent  your  assistance  so  free- 
ly, so  faithfully,  and  so  effectively.  I  thank  you  all  very  heartily 
for  that.  But  I  also  want  to  say  here,  and  now,  and  once  for  all, 
that  never  again,  with  my  consent  or  approval,  shall  this  parish 
take  part  directly  or  indirectly  in  any  entertainment  of  whatever 
description  whose  object  shall  be  the  raising  of  money  for  Paroch- 
ial Church  work,  and  so  for  the  service  of  Almighty  God.  I  say 
this  that  you  may  all  understand  it,  and  I  have  told  you  some  of 
my  reasons  for  saying  it.  I  say  it  too  for  another  reason: — be- 
cause there  is  a  debt  of  $5,600,  on  this  church.  That  debt  is  yours 
and  mine.  You  and  I  owe  $5,600  to  Almighty  God,  and  we  should 
pay  $5,600  to  Almighty  God.  It  is  not  necessary  that  we  pay 
it  to-night,  or  to-morrow,  or  next  year,  but  we  should  set  about 
paying  it  without  any  unnecessary  delay.  We  may  pay  it  in  in- 
stallments as  we  are  able  to  make  them,  only  for  the  Glory  and 
Praise  of  God  let  us  give  those  installments  and  not  beg  them;  for 
the  Glory  and  Praise  of  God,  let  us  pay  our  honest  debt  honestly, 
not  raise  it.  Now,  if  God  gives  me  health  and  strength,  I  want 
no  other  parish  than  this,  I  want  no  other  people  than  you.  I  now 
promise  you    that,  with   your  approval  and  good   pleasure,  I  will 


AND  HOW  TO  PA  Y  THEM.  13 

stand  by  you  and  St.  Peter's  Parish  until  this  debt  is  paid,  unless 
I  should  see,  what  I  least  expect  to  see,  direct  evidence  that  you 
intend  to  repudiate  it.  But  for  this  debt  the  parish  would  to-day 
be  independent.  Its  present  income  (which  I  am  proud  to  say 
has  never  been  solicited)  would  meet  its  current  expenses  and 
pay  rector's  salary  sufficient  to  enable  you  to  call  able  and  ener- 
getic men  to  preach  The  Word  from  its  pulpit  and  minister  The 
Word  at  its  altar.  And  I  believe  this  debt  can  be  paid.  I  be- 
live  that  with  even  a  little  self-sacrifice  and  good-will,  and  above 
all,  unity  of  purpose  and  effort,  four  or  five  years  will  see  this 
parish  free  from  debt;  and  once  free,  I  can  promise,  for  my  ex- 
cellent vestry  and  for  myself,  that  we  will  so  tie  this  church  prop- 
erty up  with  red  tape  that  not  one  shylock  in  all  this  city  would 
dare  to  lend  a  nickle  on  it.  I  believe  further,  that  as  a  first  step 
towards  paying  our  debt,  we  are  going  to  place  upon  that  altar 
on  next  Easter  Day,  nearly  or  quite  $1,000.  And  now  I  am  go- 
ing to  let  you  all  into  the  great  secret  of  how  this  is  to  be  done: 
simply  by  turning  our  zeal  for  God  and  our  love  for  God  into 
several  separate  and  legitimate  channels,  and  leading  it  all  to  the 
altar  on  Easter  Day.  I  expect  that  the  quarterly  collection  for 
the  church  debt  will  foot  $100.  I  expect  that  the  Guild,  which  is 
now  doing  such  true  and  faithful  work,  will  give  at  least  another 
$100.  I  expect  that  the  offerings  on  Christmas  Day  will  be  $200, 
and  last,  but  not  least,  I  expect  that  the  Easter  offerings  will  be 
$500.  That  is,  all  told,  $1,000  And  now  is,  the  time  to  begin. 
Advent  begins  next  Sunday.  Advent  is  just  as  much  a  season 
of  special  devotion,  and  special  self-sacrifice  as  Lent  is.  It  is 
the  special  time  to  prepare  ourselves  for  the  second  coming  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  I  know  of  no  better  way  to  prepare 
for  that  event,  the  event  of  our  life,  than  to  lay  up  treasures  in 
heaven,  by  building  up  His  kingdom  upon  earth.  Oh!  be  sure 
church  fairs  won't  count  then — only  honest  self-sacrifice,  and  that 
will  count  above  all  else.  And  so  I  ask  each  one  of  you, — E,  A, 
C,  H;  Each — to  remain  after  the  service  to-night  and  get  from 
me  a  mite-box  for  the  Advent  Season,  and  to  bring  it  here  with 
you  on  Christmas  Day  as  your  Christmas  Gift  to  your  Father  in 
Heaven.     I  ask  you  to  pay  your  debt  to  Him  into  this  little  treas- 


U  CHURCH  DEBTS 

ury  just  as  you  are  able  to  pay  it,  no  more  nor  no  less.  God  nev- 
er asks  of  you  more  than  you  can  give,  and  it  may  well  be  that 
the  poorest  offering  in  the  sight  of  man  on  the  Saviour's  birthday, 
will  be  the  richest  in  the  sight  of  God,  Who  sees  below  the  gift 
into  the  heart  of  the  giver,  and  estimates  its  worth,  not  by  its 
market,  but  by  its  spiritual  value.  Now  what*  I  am  asking  you 
to  do  is  simpty  this: — do  your  duty  as  God  shall  show  it  to  you. 
Care  enough  about  God  to  kneel  to  Him  and  ask  Him,  "Father, 
what  wilt  Thou  have  me  to  do?"  Be  sure  He  will  tell  you,  and 
be  sure  the  "doing"  will  then  rest  with  you.  That  is  all  I  ask  of 
you,  and  I  ask  it  in  God's  Name.  I  hold  out  no  bait  to  catch 
gold  or  silver  fish.  I  am  fishing  for  men,  for  hearts  ready  and 
desirous  to  overflow  with  works  of  love  in  God's  service.  And 
so  I  do  not  turn  this  chancel  into  a  box-office  and  ask  you  to  buy  a 
ticket  for  a  Fair,  or  a  Concert,  or  an  Opera,  or  a  Play,  or  a  Bazaar, 
or  a  Lunch,  or  for  anything  else;  I  simply  say  to  you — Here  is  a 
debt  of  which  each  one  of  you  with  me  owes  a  part  to  Almighty 
God — Pay  it;  Here  is  the  best  way  in  which  to  pay  it — Pay  it  in 
this  way;  Here  is  a  very  clear  and  pressing  duty — "Rise,  let  us 
be  going"  to  meet  it.  I  believe  that  is  all  that  is  necessary.  I 
believe  that  it  is  enough  that  this  congregation  be  shown  its 
duty  and  asked  to  do  it.  And  so  I  only  urge  upon  you  the 
vital  impoitance  of  the  present  opportunity.  Act  Now.  Act 
while  the  good  impulse  sways  the  heart  and  mind.  Get  your 
mite-box  to-night.  The  spirit  of  selfishness  will  have  less  chance 
at  you  if  you  do,  than  if  you  go  away  empty-handed.  In  this 
way  I  believe  we  can  pay  our  debt,  as  the  phrase  goes,  "without 
feeling  it."  But  even  if  we  do  feel  it,  I  don't  think  it  will  do  us 
any  harm.  Self-sacrifice  done  out  of  love  and  duty  to  God  never 
does  any  harm.  The  best,  noblest,  purest,  richest  offerings  al- 
ways spring  from  gratitude.  And  so,  let  our  love  and  self-sacri- 
fice to  our  eternal  and  ever-merciful  Creditor  be  according"  to 
knowledge  and  judgment.  Let  us  for  His  sake  and  in  His  name 
approve,  choose,  this  most  excellent  way  of  rendering  to  Him  of 
His  own.  And,  then  too,  let  our  expression  of  abounding  love 
be  sincere  and  without  offence.  Let  our  intent  and  act  be  purged 
of  all  admixture  of  worldly  dross,  that  in  this   good  work  we  may 


AND  HOW  TO  PA  Y  THEM.  15 

oe  honest  with  ourselves,  having-  a  conscience  void  of  offence  to- 
wards God.  Striving  to  be  thus  and  to  do  thus  we  cannot  fail  to 
bring  forth  "  the  fruits  of  righteousness;"  and  these  are 
the  only  fruits  that  shall  endure  ;  the  only  fruits  worth 
the  growing  by  the  laborer,  worth  the  garnering  by  the 
Husbandman.  Ail  else  shall  wither,  die,  and  rot,  but  the 
fruits  of  righteousness  these  bear  seed  that  will  spring  up  and 
blossom  into  Life  Eternal.  And  whatever  of  these  blessed  fruits 
we  shall  bring  forth  at  this  time,  or  in  later  years,  let  us  ever  re- 
member to  bring  them  forth  to  the  "Glory  and  Praise  of  God." 
The  Glory  and  Praise  of  God!  Ah!  that  is  the  key  note  of  the 
Christian  life!  That  is  the  whole  point  in  this  whole  matter! 
Ah  me!  if  only  the  lives  of  God's  debtors  were  tuned  to  that, 
their  payments  would  be  made  in  a  different  spirit,  and  in  a  dif- 
ferent manner:  In  the  spirit — "All  things  come  of  Thee  O  Lord, 
and  of  Thine  own  do  we  Give  Thee."  Ah!  yes,  there  too  is  the  man- 
ner! Give  Thee,  even  as  Thou,  O  loving  Giver  of  all  good  things 
gave  Thine  Only  Begotten  Son — freely,  willingly,  directly. 

Oh  !  holy  symbol  of  that  great  gilt !  Oh  !  the  Cross  of  Christ  ! 
Shall  we  wear  it  on  our  brow  and  not  in  our  heart?  Oh  !  the  Glo- 
ry and  Praise  of  God  !  Shall  we  wear  that  on  our  lips  and  not 
practice  it  in  our  lives?  Dearly  beloved  in  the  Lord,  answer,  I 
beseech  you,  these  questions.  This  is  the  last  Sunday  night  in 
the  Church  year.  This  is  the  time  for  new  beginnings, — for  for- 
getting what  things  are  behind  in  a  dead  past,  and  for  reaching 
forth  for  those  things  which  are  before  in  a  living  future,  for  the 
sake  of  the  high  calling  that  we  bear,  even  the  name  of  Christians; 
for  the  sake  of  the  prize  that  fadeth  not  away,  eternal  in  the 
heavens.  Oh!  let  us  not  delay  to  answer  these  questions!  Let 
us  not  be  dumb  till  the  Judgment  be  set  and  the  books  open- 
ed, but  let  us  write  our  answer  noio,  and  let  that  answer  be  on 
the  credit  side  of  the  Book  of  Life,  the  eternal  ledger  of  God. 

C.  L.  Miel 

St.  Peter's,  Nov.  21,  1886. 


16 


We,  the  undersigned  clergymen  of  the  Diocese  of  California, 
do  hereby  state  we  are  in  substantial  accord  with  the  views 
expressed  in  this  sermon,  viz  :  that  the  Church  Fair  and 
kindred  entertainments,  as  means  of  raising  money  for  Parochial 
Church  Work,  are  pernicious  in  principle  and  harmful  in  practice. 
And  we  recommend  to  our  brethren  of  the  clergy,  who  think  with 
us  in  this  matter,  that  they  distribute  copies  of  this  sermon  among 
their  parishioners. 

William  Ingraham  Kip,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

Hiram  W.  Beers,  D.D. 

HOBART    ClIETWOOD. 

John  A.  Emery. 
William  W.  Davis. 
D.  O.  Kelley, 


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